Customer Reviews

Brian Wilson (Dlx)

5 star:		(27)
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3 star:		(4)
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I know that Pet Sounds is acknowledged as Brian's masterpiece, but listening to the remastered version of this album definitely buts it in the same league. Whereas Pet Sounds reflected the melancholia and insecurity Brian was feeling in 1965, his self titled 1988 release showcases a much more optimistic and loving artist. Love and Mercy, Melt Away, There's So Many and Let It Shine rank among Brian's best melodies, and Rio Grande is an experimental gem that would have fit nicely onto the aborted Smile album. The album's shining moment is One For The Boys, an a capella tribute to his former bandmates, which features Brian's multi-tracked harmonies. If Carl Wilson had sung on this album, it would rank as The Beach Boys' best work. This version also contains 11 bonus tracks (including many demos) that prove this wasn't just pieced together by producers, as was rumored at the time.

Finally available after a ten year hiatus. I had to get the out of print version on E-bay. But this version is worth it. Sonically better than the original release, with many unreleased tracks. The harmonies on this album are gorgeous-check out One For the Boys. Brian hadn't reached a musical peak since Love You. As I think back, why wasn't this album a hit in 1988? The songs are soooo much better than the dribble that was out at the time---Tiffany, Debbie Gibson, Rick Astley?? Love and Mercy should have been Top Ten material. The same can be said about Imagination, released in 1998. That is music---not Korn, Limp Bizkit blah blah blah. They wouldn't know how to write a decent song if their lives depended on it. This album just proves that Brian and his music are timely and timeless. Now if Brian could release Sweet Insanity......

Rhino really know how to repackage, remaster and deliver the goods with those bonus tracks. Lots of contemporaneous b-sides, out-takes, demos and bits of Brian talking here. Wonderful! The album itself suffered a little from the 80s drum and keyboard sounds (a common problem of the times) and having too many hands on deck (including the controversial Gene Landy), but it was still a welcome return to the kind of form we never thought Brian Wilson would ever reach again. And he still has yet to match this album with any subsequent official release (what exists in the vaults and in the hands of bootleggers is a different story.....). Love and Mercy should have been a hit, Melt Away and There's So Many are gorgeous - Brian's melodic flair is very much intact here. Rio Grande is a breathtaking finale. All that Brian's Back nonesense seemed so much like hot air in 1976, in 1988 it rang a lot truer! Beach Boys fan or just a lover of great tunes that come from the heart? Buy this CD.

Under the questionable sheen of late 80s production techniques and sythesizers, the genius of Brian Wilson is found in these recordings for the first time since 1977's "Love You" album, recorded with the Beach Boys. Wilson is ambitious on his first time out alone (although with the help of several producers and the strange influence of Dr. Eugene Landy) with the magnificent suite Rio Grande, while Love and Mercy and Melt Away rank with his best songs. This album is not on the level of Wilson's prime 1960 Beach Boy recordings, but is an interesting look into the later years of a musical genius and is sure to be worth any fan's time.

This is an excellent reissue of Brian Wilson's self-titled solo LP from 1988. It remains the best music that the Beach Boy singer and composer has released in the past twenty years or so.

The albums starts promisingly with "Love and Mercy," which has become a staple of Wilson's concert performances. It has a simple but well-structured melody which is lent potency by the Beach Boys-style harmonies for which Wilson is justly famous. However, on this album, Wilson handles almost all the backing vocal chores by himself, having painstakingly multi-tracked each vocal part. The results on this track are particularly spectacular on the bridge section. The lyrics of the song are disarmingly direct, almost childlike in their plea for (what else) love and mercy.

Other highlights include the acapella self-harmonizing on "One for the Boys," the lovely romantic ballad "Melt Away," and the retro pop effervescence of "Meet Me In My Dreams Tonight." The most spectacular cut is saved for the close, "Rio Grande." It's a pop suite seemingly inspired by the Americana themes and quirky melodies of the Beach Boys' abortive 1967 "Smile" album. It contains several haunting melodies blanketed in lush harmonies and production.

If there is a fault with the album, it may be its excessive reliance on the programmed synthesizers that were so popular in the late `80s. The entire project feels a tad overproduced. There are also some weak numbers, notably "There's So Many" and "Baby Let Your Hair Grow Long." Other than that, it's a satisfying return to the sophisticated harmonies and striking melodies that were the hallmark of Wilson's best work in the `60s.

Rhino has done a superb job of repackaging this album for release, replete with bonus tracks including demos for "Rio Grande," "Melt Away," and other key cuts on the album. Also included are tracks that were featured as B-sides and on movie soundtracks around the period this album was released. Interview segments with Wilson round out the package.

Rhino Records should be applauded for bringing back this long out-of-print release, especially with the wealth of bonus material included. "Brian Wilson" deserves a wider audience than it was able to garner at the time of its release. It's a key piece in the body of work of one of America's greatest songwriters of the modern rock era.

If you like SMiLE or PET SOUNDS, you will love this album. Released in 1988, it sounds absolutely timeless and fresh. It could have been released in 1968 or 2008...the gorgeous harmonies, achingly lovely melodies, imaginative instrumentation, innovative arrangements, and the sparkling production are all here. For me, the apex is "Let it Shine," which was produced by Jeff Lynne (ELO, Traveling Wilburys, Tom Petty) and catches both artists at a peak...it's an honest-to-goodness "goosebump" song that takes the breath away. Truth be told, it's all good. "Love and Mercy" combines innocence with a strong, tough plea for peace...all set in a lush symphonic pop framework. The dazzling vocal arrangements on "Melt Away," "One for the Boys," "There's So Many," and the aforementioned "Let it Shine" rank with the very best of Wilson's incredible career. "Rio Grande" is a stunning epic piece that portends (or echoes) the best of SMiLE. The bonus tracks are interesting and the packaging is very nice. This is a must-have CD for any Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, or pure pop music afficianado.

This album is a bit of an enigma to me, the material stands up, really well, but there's definitely weaknesses throughout it as well.

Let's start with the good-- certainly, the songs are brilliant-- "Love and Mercy" and "Melt Away", both really great sentimental pieces (the latter in particular is a personal favorite), "There's So Many" and "Let It Shine" both feature great vocal arrangements, and "Rio Grande" is just magnficiant. And certainly many of the others ("Walkin' the Line", "Meet Me In My Dreams Tonight") are more than good enough.

But there are some flaws-- Brian's voice sounds odd to me, I can't place it, almost forced, and his falsetto is definitely limited, probably most obvious on "One For the Boys" and "There's So Many". Beyond this though, the biggest problem with the album is the '80s production, too many synthesizers, some of the songs would (and did in recent live performances) benefit from more acoutic arrangements.

Overall however, the album is rewarding, and you sort of get used to its odd sound.

The bonus tracks on the reissue are so-so, my favorite is actually the track titled "Brian on 'Love and Mercy'", which also features a snippet of a piano-and-vocal demo of the song. The b-sides are kind of blah, but the demos are all really interesting.

This album was cruelly discontinued by Sire Records after poor initial sales in 1988. This robbed many of hearing one of Brian's most creative outputs ever. I personally love this album nearly as much as some of Brian's best work in the 60's. I think the emotion that comes out in this album is truly remarkable. Although not a consistently strong album lyrically, it more than makes up for it with beautiful music and great hooks. The bonus tracks are interesting, in that they give the listener a look inside Brian's master plan, as he lays down vocals and demos the material. For as intricate as the finished products became, it's intriguing to see where they all started. A couple of great extras too, like "He Couldn't Get His Poor Body to Move", which was later included on the unreleased "Sweet Insanity" album. I'm thrilled with the rejuvenation that Brian has experienced in the last couple of years, and I think the re-release of this album crowns a magnificent late run for the 'Mozart of Hawthorne'.

I just got this album today & let me tell you it is a masterpiece, it reminds me of brian in the hayday of the beach boys. the soundmastering on this cd is excellent rhino knows what they're doing , my favorite tracks on this disc are: love & mercy, walkin the line , baby let your hair grow long. but really this disc does'nt have any duds on it, sounds like pure sunshine. so break out the sunglasses , the cooler & sit back & enjoy,dance your heart out.

Take Care Brian,thanks for the music!

Highly Recommended For Beach Boys Fans& Classic Rock Nuts

Hello Brian Wilson fans,

I have been a BW fan since I was five. This is my favorite album ever. Melt Away remains the most spiritual and most magical song I've ever heard and may ever hear. I love this record and am sorry it was not promoted better than it was. That's probably the main reason why it didn't fair well commercially. BW got me through the roughest time of my life and continues so today. I love this man. He is the purest soul on this earth and I only wish him happiness and continued success. I try to write all my vocal arrangements as inspiring as his. If you believe in magic, believe in Brian Wilson. For the first month it was released I listened to this album two or three times a day, 7 days a week. It remains my most listened to album. I just absorbed it. And you will too. Enjoy!

-Brett Northampton, PA